174: Natural Healing Show with Catherine Carrigan - Episode 174

174: Natural Healing Show with Catherine Carrigan - Episode 174

Curious about how others navigate their sobriety journey? This conversation with medical intuitive healer and author Catherine Kerrigan centres on one simple but often ignored question: what do you actually need to be okay? Catherine shares how understanding her own needs helped her come off lithium and antidepressants after 18 years, and stay drug-free for decades.

As she puts it, "The only way to feel truly happy in life is to understand and meet your core needs." From working with clients on six continents, she’s seen the same pattern: people drowning in depression, anxiety or overwork while never asking what their soul is crying out for.

She breaks down the difference between needs and wants, then walks through key categories of human needs drawn from nonviolent communication: connection, physical wellbeing, honesty, play, peace, autonomy, meaning, plus Tony Robbins’ pair of certainty and uncertainty. You’ll hear real-life stories, like the client whose chronic pain was linked to hiding her sexuality, and the woman whose low mood was tied less to "chemical imbalance" and more to lack of sunlight.

Catherine also introduces Alison Armstrong’s "great ask" – a four-step way to say "I need", spell out what that looks like, explain what it gives you, and ask what your partner might need from you in return. It’s practical, a bit disarming, and designed to reduce drama rather than add to it. This episode is especially useful if you’ve grown up in abuse, lived with narcissists, or used substances or overwork to escape an unhappy life.

Instead of more numbing, Catherine invites you to build a life that fits your needs so well that escape no longer feels necessary. So what might your top five needs be today?